The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to receptacles which are adapted to be mounted on a printed wiring board (PWB).
Receptacles which are adapted to be mounted on a PWB are well known in the art. The universal serial bus (USB) receptacle, for example, is used in many computer and computer peripheral applications to provide for easy connection of the peripherals to computer devices. The USB connection is expected to become increasingly popular as it provides for numerous connections to the computer device without exhausting limited computer device resources. In addition, the USB connector is an excellent solution for attaching peripheral devices to portable computing devices such as notebooks. Accordingly, many computers now include two or more USB receptacles.
In the USB there is essentially an insulative member which houses a plurality of contacts which extend horizontally then vertically to engage the PWB. A conductive shield has an upper wall which is superimposed over the horizontal section of the insulated insert. The conductive shield also has a lower wall adjacent the PWB, and the upper and lower walls are connected with the vertical side walls to form a plug receiving cavity.
Because computing devices are becoming ever smaller, a limitation of the USB connector arises from the requirement that the USB receptacle meet specified dimensions. Conventional USB receptacles disadvantageously require a relatively large amount of space as compared to the overall dimensions of new, small computing devices. Another disadvantage of such receptacles is that they may not provide a filtering element.
Thus, in view of the above, there is a need for a higher density receptacle having an integral filtering element which is adapted to be mounted to a PWB.
The present invention is directed to an electrical connector system having a housing including a plurality of receiving spaces each adapted to receive a complementary electrical connector. The electrical connector system includes a plurality of contacts arranged in groups corresponding to a respective one of the receiving spaces and a common filter element connected to contacts in each of the groups. The connector also includes an outer shield that generally surrounds the housing and grounding contacts to create an electrical connection between the conductive outer shield and the plug element when inserted therein. The filter element is a capacitive filter and defines transverse apertures to receive the contacts. The filter includes a first conductive layer surrounding at least one of the apertures to engage a contact and forming a first electrode, a second conductive surrounding at least another one of said apertures to engage a contact and forming a second electrode, and a dielectric layer separating the first and second electrodes. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the electrical connector system may be configured as a double-deck receptacle.